Check out the December List of Small Business Contests and Awards

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Check out the December List of Small Business Contests and Awards Posted: 08 Dec 2012 11:36 AM PST At this time of year especially, a little help is appreciated. Here’s our hand-picked list of small business sweepstakes, contests and awards.  Check them out! ****   Craziest Place You’ve Taken a Business Call Enter by December 12, 2012 Plantronics is running a sweepstakes to support small businesses throughout this holiday season. To enter, share your story about the craziest spot you've ever taken a business call, for a chance to win the Marque 2™ Bluetooth® headset. See Sponsored Post with Product Review Editor TJ McCue describing his strangest place for a call: Mt. Fuji, Japan! Deadline: Dec. 12, 2012.  To share your story for a chance to win, go here: http://soundingboard.plantronics.com/community/small-medium-business. Dell $100M Innovators Credit Fund Ongoing Dell has launched a $100 million Innovators Credit Fund, with the purpose of helping entrepreneurs "maximize potential for innovation, speed to market and job creation." The credit fund will offer both funding and technology resources with IT support, depending on what each start-up needs. To be eligible, you must have already received some angel funding or venture capital before you can apply. Start-ups can get up to 10% of its current funding or up to $150,000 with limited credit terms. See website for details and application. The Big Reboot Multiple Contests & Entry Dates Toshiba, Intel and Staples have teamed up to help small businesses share their stories and win thousands of dollars in new technology. Throughout 2012, they will award $10,000 technology makeovers to American businesses and free Intel-powered Ultrabooks to the people who support them. Categories include Powering Knowledge, Powering Innovation, Powering Service, Powering Products, and Powering Good. See website for details and entry guidelines. Infusionsoft Battle of the Apps Enter by December 31, 2012 Do you have a great idea for an Infusionsoft App, integration or plug-in that will enhance the Infusionsoft user experience? Then you have a shot at being crowned the Kick Apps Champion in the Battle of the Apps 2013. First prize is $10,000. See website for details. Shopify Build-A-Business Competition Enter by December 31, 2012 Shopify has teamed up with four world-class entrepreneurs to help you build a million-dollar business in just months. Come up with a product to sell, open your online store and pick a mentor. The Shopify community and your mentor will give you great advice and guidance along the way. At the end of the competition, the four stores that sell the most over a two month period will each win a $50,000 investment from their mentor. 2013 National Small Business Week Awards Enter by January 3, 2013 The U.S. Small Business Administration is accepting awards for: • National Small Business Person of the Year (chosen from among state award winners from each of the 50 states, the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico, the U.S. Virgin Islands and Guam) • Phoenix Awards (recognizing outstanding accomplishments during disaster recovery) • Small Business Prime Contractor of the Year • Small Business Subcontractor of the Year • The Dwight D. Eisenhower Award for Excellence (recognizes large prime contractors who have used small businesses as suppliers and contractors) • SBA 8(a) Graduate of the Year (for recent graduates of the SBA's 8(a) contracting program) • Small Business Development Center (SBDC) Excellence and Innovation Award (nominations of SBA-funded SBDC Service Centers) • Women's Business Center (WBCs) of Excellence Award (nominations of SBA-funded WBCs) • Veterans Business Outreach Center Excellence in Service Award (nominations of SBA-funded Veterans Business Outreach Centers) Enter online.  Or send your nomination directly to your local SBA District Office (find an office here). To find more small business events, contests and awards, visit our Small Business Events Calendar.  If you are putting on a small business contest, award or competition, and want to get the word out to the community, please submit it through our Small Business Event and Contests Form (it’s free). This list of awards and competitions is brought to you by Small Business Trends and Smallbiztechnology.com. Please note: The descriptions provided here are for convenience only and are NOT the official rules. ALWAYS read official rules carefully at the site holding the competition, contest or award.   The post Check out the December List of Small Business Contests and Awards appeared first on Small Business Trends.

Join The Crowdfunding Revolution to Start Your Business Posted: 08 Dec 2012 06:00 AM PST Are VCs outdated? And is a bank loan really necessary for many businesses to start? Given the rise of Kickstarter, Indiegogo, and other online funding platforms, one begins to wonder what shifts await traditional sources of business financing.  Kevin Lawton and Dan Morom, authors of the book, The Crowdfunding Revolution: How To Raise Venture Capital Using Social Media, have a few ideas. Lawton has founded multiple startups, while Morom is a finance PhD candidate at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem.   I sought a review copy through NetGalley; It's a second edition published through McGraw Hill, where the first was self published. The book's publication history is not lost irony on the subject matter.  Significant computing capability, widespread internet access, and digital media has rearranged value for publishers and media producers. A similar impact is happening in finance. Lawton and Morom believe we have reached a critical shift in how funding should work. They don't believe VCs are entirely passé, but do note that: "If a system is too structured, its very structure presents it from being very innovative. If a system is too chaotic, its chaos prevents its from being productive. The sweet spot of innovation is right at the threshold, at that's at the edge of chaos." That perspective means that traditional business resources such as a board of directors should be rethought to be effective for a more varied and global entrepreneurial audience. The book is peppered with a few terrific factoids – didn't know Vermont had revised its legislation to create a start up environment competitive with Delaware and Nevada.  It also explains technological trends that can make or break platforms, such as APIs: "Exposing APIs and data is imperative. Even from only a competitive standpoint, it'll be hard to compete for attention." Rightly noting that APIs are making applications go around, the authors highlight benefits that small business owners will appreciate.  Readers will not learn a step by step process. Instead, they will learn what aspects of crowdsourcing platforms should be present when deciding where to invest participation. Creative trends are also highlighted, such as a finder economy that connects entrepreneurial efforts with funding sources. "The rise of finders has become its own revolution, and it has created a new finders' economy." A wider discussion on the impact of such an economy is probably left best for a webinar – but the topics' inclusion, along with an example in the platform FundHamony, reflects very advanced thinking compared to many social media books on the shelf (or with ebooks, on the server).   The authors even note a crowdfunding due diligence company. Touches like that show Lawton and Morom researched the right potential questions readers would wonder about. Refreshingly The Crowdfunding Revolution pokes at venture capital thinking without relying on hackneyed commentary easily trolled and copied from any ole' blog.   Take this quote about video: "A very common way to pitch an idea online is to make a video. Videos make it easy, on a human level, to get familiar with the people behind the idea or cause, and they are far easier to digest than reading through a Powerpoint presentation." When video is contrasted against powerpoints, the authors subtly position a recent successful platform, YouTube, against a typical presentation method, the roadshow. The book is a clear compliment to Locavesting and Getting Into The Game, although readers of The Mesh may want to read this as a follow up book (The Mesh still remains one of my favorites in providing start up examples). A good read during a company downtime or when researching a startup. The Crowdfunding Revolution offers fundraising inspiration for small business owners and aspiring entrepreneurs. The post Join The Crowdfunding Revolution to Start Your Business appeared first on Small Business Trends.

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